Leon Harris, a black commentator from CNN who was covering
the Iowa caucuses, closed his report with a lighthearted bite:
On the eve of the vote, he had been approached by two people who
asked if he was a bodyguard.

Bodyguard? He was a professional journalist reporting on the
Iowa caucuses. But that is what it is like to be black in America.
People think the well-dressed "black guy" is the bodyguard,
the carhop or the waiter - but certainly not the VIP.

Another black guy getting the same kind of treatment in the
press is Alan Keyes. Yep, he is that black guy... running for
president.

The apparent "blackout" in the coverage of Mr. Keyes
is all too obvious, even in the black media. I often have spoken
to fellow black folks about Alan Keyes, only to hear, "Who
is Alan Keyes?" They know Jesse (Jackson) and Al (Sharpton),
but they don't know Alan.

They don't know about him because we have media that anoint
some blacks - usually politically liberal - as spokespeople for
the race and others as aberrant misfits not deserving of our attention.

Well, that "black guy" just placed third in the Iowa
caucuses, beating out Gary Bauer and the media's darling Bush
antagonist, John McCain.

That "black guy" finished with 14 percent of the
vote, and he has a bunch of people excited and energized enough
to vote for him.

That "black guy" is the one who many analysts say
is the true winner of every Republican debate that has been held.

That "black guy" is the one who is speaking out passionately
on what he believes in - school choice, pro-life, lower taxation,
traditional family integrity, nondiscrimination and American sovereignty.

That "black guy" is said to be the most articulate
of any of the candidates running - Democrat or Republican - with
a fiery oratory that grabs you by the heart and challenges your
intellect.

That "black guy" is Alan Keyes.

So why isn't such a dynamic African-American personality on
the covers of Jet, Ebony, Emerge, Black Enterprise and some of
the other top-selling black magazines? Why isn't there better
coverage of Keyes' presidential run in the minority newspapers?
Why do so many black people respond with, "Who is Alan Keyes?"
when asked about him and his views?

Some of us think it is because of the bias fostered by the
white elite press that tells America who is worth hearing and
who isn't, a white press that even controls the political thinking
of the traditionally Democratic black press.

I like how columnist and prize-winning newspaper editor John
L. Perry puts it. He says the establishment media have an "occupational
prejudice" against people like Mr. Keyes:

"Now, the establishment media are asking themselves what
they're going to do. Sure, Keyes is black but... well, he can't
really be black, can he? He doesn't act black, not like they have
decided blacks should act, or think, black. So, if he doesn't
act like their duck or think like what they think a duck should
act or think like, then how can he possibly be black? So, he's
not their kind of duck. So, they're going to make him swim in
the back of the pond."

"Sir, are you the bodyguard?" That is what the asked
this big, brawny, black guy who just happens to be CNN correspondent
Leon Harris. Two times they asked him. And he had to tell them,
"No, I am not the bodyguard. I am Leon Harris, CNN news correspondent."

And what about that black guy over there, the one standing
at the hotel entrance with the nametag that says, "Keyes"?
Well, he is no carhop, either.

###

(Murdock "Doc" Gibbs is a member of Project 21 and
an entertainer and public speaker in Coppell, TX. He can be reached
at [email protected].)

Note: New Visions Commentaries reflect the views
of their author, and not necessarily those of Project 21.